Saturday, December 22, 2012

There are so many designs I like in the world of cars, and one could argue that right now, on the precipice of the year 2013, we are at a pinnacle of car design and engineering. I wouldn't argue that point, but as I think back to various periods to consider if there was a "golden age" during my life (no...not the 1930's!), then I think my answer to the question posed in my title would have to be....1967
I was five years old in 1967 and by many accounts it was a period of turmoil and growth in the world, and certainly in the United States. For cars, it was a fantastic year. I won't come up with all the great aspects of 1967, but here are a few to consider...

* The Lamborghini Muria was born and some call it the first exotic "supercar"
* Porsche 911s were stunning, fast, and nimble
* Mercedes introduced the fun and sporty 2-seater 280SL
* Ferrari 275 GTB. 'Nuff said
* Last year of the Jaguar E-type before safety rules made the bumpers ugly, and the same goes for things like cool dashboard toggle switches that disappeared after 1967 from all kinds of sports cars
* Pinnacle year of the mid-year C2 Corvette body styles. One option: a big block 427ci L88 with over 550HP!!
* all cars were unrestricted as it was still prior to the emissions rules of the early 1970s
* 1967 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake
* Datsun had the Roadster, aka Fairlady (pre-Z car)
* VW had perfected the beetle, increased HP, and moved to a 12-volt generator
* BMW had fun cars for track and street in the 1600ti and 2000cs
* Shelby came out with the GT-500 Cobra
* Mustang upgraded the pony car to a big block 390
* Chrysler had just introduced the 440 Magnum and the 426 Hemi
* GM's cars looked best in this period (GTO, Chevelle, etc) because they hadn't yet gone to the fastback styling of 1968+,
* Both the iconic Pontiac Firebird and Chevy Camaro were introduced.
* The stunning 1967 Ford GT-40: the U.S. answer to Ferrari racing dominance
* But wait: the 1967 Ferrari 330 P4 is still maybe the most beautiful race car ever made, and it won the 24 hours of Daytona that year...oh, and took 2nd and 3rd place, too.
* Porsche had an amazing car on the race circuits as well, with the 906E

Um, yeah. I think I've made my case: 1967 was my favorite year for cars.

The new garage has been completed, hooray!! (We are very excited about the house being done, too... But this is a car blog...). The vineyard is ready to be planted on the hill above the garage, below the pool. Here you see the uphill face of the garage, disguised as a guest house...

Three entry bays... no waiting!

Good old fashioned drive-in movie...

And a blessing from the skies, over the top of the garage during move-in week!

And as the garage has gone through some additions and changes, I've updated here...